City civil court orders BRS to take down posts on Seethakka

Passing orders on an interlocutory application, the Court of the XI Addl Chief Judge, CCC, Hyd, granted an ad-interim mandatory injunction directing the respondents to delete posts made on April 10, 2026 

Metro India News | Hyderabad

A city-based civil court on Wednesday directed former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the Opposition BRS to remove certain social media posts alleging corruption against Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, holding that failure to grant interim relief would cause “irreparable loss” to her reputation.

Passing orders on an interlocutory application, the Court of the XI Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad, granted an ad-interim mandatory injunction directing the respondents to delete posts made on April 10, 2026, on platforms including X, Facebook and Instagram.

The order came in the petition filed by Minister Seethakka, seeking removal of what she termed defamatory content linking her to an alleged Rs 30-crore irregularity in the procurement of smartphones for Anganwadi workers under the Poshan Abhiyan scheme.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the Women Development and Child Welfare department had floated a tender for procurement of 38,130 mobile phones and that the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder after due process. It was contended that the respondents, a rival political party and its president, published posts falsely alleging that phones priced at Rs 8,499 were purchased at Rs 14,499, thereby imputing corruption of Rs 30 crore.

The petitioner further stated that a legal notice dated April 12, 2026, was issued to the respondents seeking deletion of the posts and an apology. Despite receipt of the notice on April 15, no corrective action was taken, prompting the present suit seeking damages and injunctive relief.

Upon perusal of the material placed on record, including the notification of award dated January 12, 2026, the court noted that the price per mobile phone was fixed at Rs 11,650, with the total tender value at Rs 44.42 crore. It observed that the social media posts relied upon by the petitioner appeared, prima facie, to be based on incorrect data and did not reflect accurate information regarding the procurement.

Referring to the judgment of the Delhi High Court in Vinay Kumar Saxena vs. Aam Aadmi Party (2022), the court held that interim injunctions may be granted in cases involving defamatory and factually incorrect social media content.

The court found that the petitioner had established a prima facie case and that the balance of convenience lay in her favour. It further held that the impugned posts had a direct bearing on the petitioner’s reputation and that denial of interim relief would result in irreparable harm.

Accordingly, the court directed the respondents to forthwith remove or delete the posts in question from their social media accounts. Notice was ordered to the respondents, with the matter posted for further hearing on June 6, 2026.

Terming the recent court order as a tight slap to what she described as a “false propaganda” by the BRS, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka on Wednesday said the ruling reaffirmed that untruths cannot endure.

“Attempts to mislead the public through false narratives will not last long. This verdict once again proves that truth will eventually prevail,” she said.

The Minister asserted that the government had adhered to transparent procedures in providing necessary facilities to Anganwadi workers. She maintained that the allegations circulated against her were baseless and politically motivated.